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My Service Experience at the Larimer County Food Bank

The day I became a YMSL member, I wasn’t sure whether it would be interesting or enjoyable. I thought it was going to be very strict and formal; but after helping out at several philanthropies, I realized it was an awesome experience with amazing, outgoing people who really care about others.

My service at the Larimer County Food Bank had the biggest impact on me and made me realize how special it was to be in YMSL. When my brother Flynn and I and my mom arrived at the Food Bank, we walked through a big warehouse full of pallets piled high with food for people in need. They had us organize food into boxes in a very orderly fashion. I realized how much they truly care about what they are doing. 

An older woman who had seemingly spent many hours volunteering to sort food helped us figure out how to categorize foods and how to look for expiration dates. We needed a lot of help! She told us that someone had found a box of food that was over ten years old! (Later, when I toured the Food Bank during a Boy’s Meeting, our tour guide told us the oldest food they have found was a can of food from 1965!). I remember finding a bottle of pasta sauce that was a couple of years over the expiration date and feeling that this was pretty old.

It was nice to know that without doing what I did people wouldn’t be safely enjoying the food, and it lightens up my heart and makes me feel really good. At the end of the day we had emptied many bins and piles of unsorted food and we had a big pile of boxes full of food ready to feed hungry people. I walked out of the Food Bank with a smile on my face.

Very recently we went back to the Food Bank with YMSL to donate turkeys and have a tour of the facility. The thing that stood out to me (besides how huge their freezers are) was that they have a professional chef to make meals that are delivered to seniors, Poudre School District children, and other people in need. It was very surprising how so much food was donated.  Our tour guide told us that 95% of their food is donated by farmers and stores all across the country, and 80% of the food donated would be in a landfill without the Food Bank. Much of what would end up in landfills is “Ugly Food,” which is food that is not perfect but is still quite edible.

I was impressed by both of my experiences at the Food Bank, and can’t wait to volunteer there again.

Sam Wilder
Communications Team
Class of 2020

Confessions of a "Quote Junkie"

YMSL Blog Post

Lin Wilder, Communications

Mollie Ressler, Vice President of YMSL Fort Collins chapter, opened the first mom’s meeting on September 12th by writing five quotes on the whiteboard and leading a brief discussion of how each quote relates to our membership in the Young Men’s Service League.  I am a self-proclaimed “quote junkie” so I wrote each quote down and thought a lot about them. The following is what I took away from reading and discussing each of these quotes, with examples from my YMSL experiences so far with my sons Sam and Flynn.

1)      All experiences are opportunities for growth.

YMSL provides us with myriad opportunities to stretch ourselves outside of our comfort zones, learn and grow as individuals, and strengthen our mother-son bonds.  Sam, Flynn and I may never be quite sure what we are getting ourselves into when we show up at a new organization to fill a new role, but taking risks together has not only increased our confidence in ourselves, but also in each other.

2)      Each of us is greater and wiser than we think we are.

The older I get, the more I realize the truth of this quote, but young boys may not readily see themselves as wise or great.  When Sam, Flynn and I volunteered with Respite Care summer camp, I watched as they were each introduced to the camper that they were to be a “buddy” with for the rest of the day.  At first their faces were uncertain and they didn’t seem to know what to say or do. But they were wiser than they thought they were – before long they had found something in common with their camper and were talking and laughing like they had been friends forever.

3)      Each person we meet is our student and our teacher.

Not only is each person we meet our student and our teacher, but we also are all both givers and receivers.  Service to others returns more back to us in life lessons and a sense of satisfaction than we ever give.  When my sons and I arrived at the Food Bank for the first time to sort food, we felt rather overwhelmed with the mountain of unsorted food before us.  By the end of our shift, the mountain was reduced to a mere hill, and our physical tiredness was overshadowed by a huge feeling of accomplishment.

4)      Anyone’s journey is as unique and valuable as any other’s journey.

This may be one of the greatest lessons that can come from service to others – we meet people we might never have crossed paths with or paid attention to, and while they may be very different from us, we inevitably end up paying more attention to the ways in which we are alike.  Whether Sam, Flynn and I are swimming with children who have disabilities or shoveling landscaping rocks alongside YMSL boys from other high schools, questions are eventually asked and stories are told, and in this way our worlds become wider and more connected.

5)      Energy attracts energy.

Whether positive or negative, the energy that each of us puts into the world connects with others and attracts more energy.  When my boys and I volunteered at the Colorado Youth Outdoors summer camp, we were initially not sure there was much for us to do.  For a while we hung back, not wanting to do the wrong thing or get in the way.  Finally, we began to see small needs that we could fill, and we decided to just dive in.  The boys joined in with the campers and began to enjoy the activities with them, helping or guiding in small ways, but mostly just offering encouragement and positivity.  I started helping wide-eyed children remove fish from hooks, and ended up jumping up and down with the kids when they pulled in another wriggling fish.  As soon as my boys and I put our positive energy into the task, the campers responded by coming closer and asking for help or making conversation.  If we had held back, I suspect that the campers would have held back too.

Many thanks to Mollie for sharing these quotes with us, as each of them deepens the learning and growth that come from our experiences in YMSL.

YMSL: A Teen's View

YMSL is truly a unique experience. As a teenager in today’s world it feels like everyone is out for themselves, doing what benefits them. When I put on the shirt that says "Service Crew" on the back I feel like I get to step outside of myself and serve a community that needs my attention more than I do.

Just last month I had the amazing opportunity to volunteer with maintaining the Learning House, an organization that gives children an opportunity to get education at a young age who wouldn’t normally receive it. My contribution was repainting a fence that stretched around the outside area. Although my part seemed small in everything that was going on that weekend, I felt proud of the work I did. Whenever we drive by the Learning House I see the fence and can’t help thinking that I helped make that happen. There is really no other feeling like that. While most of my other friends were watching T.V or sleeping in, I was helping the community and gaining an experience that I will remember forever.

I think my favorite part of YMSL has got to be how it has brought my mother and I together. Near the end of middle school my mom and I had grown apart, it seemed like we had nothing in common and never did anything together anymore. She wanted me to do this thing she heard about from a friend called YMSL and my reaction was hostile at first, but she stuck with her gut and insisted we do it. I'm glad she did because it feels like every volunteer opportunity we take, we grow closer.  

Tyler Kimbell

Class of 2020 ~ Communications

YMSL 2020 Boys Meeting Summary

To kick off our meeting on October 9th we started with an ice breaker. The boys were asked questions like “What was your favorite childhood toy?” and “What was the best prank you have ever pulled on a sibling?” There were some really creative answers and it was a fun way to start the night.

After this, we jumped right into the meeting. Philanthropy Committee thanked us for putting many hours into volunteering at the Learning House. We also watched a video that showed all that we accomplished there.

Next, Life Skills talked to us about 8 things not to keep in your wallet. Some of these included Social Security Card,  a password cheat sheet, spare keys, checks, passport, multiple credit cards, birth certificate, and stacks of receipts.

After this informational presentation, Leadership Committee inspired us by talking about courage and what it meant to you. We also watched a video about courage. Towards the end of the meeting, two CSU students named Eddie and Matt came to talk to us about Civic Responsibility. We learned that this means to get involved and give back to your community. We had some really interesting discussion with both of them.

Overall, it was a very valuable meeting and we learned a lot. We hope to see you at our next meeting November 13th. Don’t forget to bring frozen turkeys.      

~Luke Kesler
Boys Communication team
Class of 2020